!@$ microsoft...

I don’t know why, but Microsoft is always there for me… when I have problems with my computer, they’re the first ones to step to the plate and make everything just that much worse. 

I bought a retail copy of Vista awhile back, and had installed it to my old Sempron system, then that thing left a glowing crater… Then I installed it to my wife’s computer. She bought a laptop, so I purged it off. Now I build my own computer a month ago, and it just won’t activate automatically no matter what I do. They want me to buy another copy. So I call them up. They have some vague prompts that if you don’t answer exactly right, kick you over to a random tech support person in India that you have to assure that you’re only installing it on one computer. Of course, they barely understand what you’re saying and it’s hard to explain that it was on other computers, but it’s a retail copy so you’re allowed to move it from system to system…

Well, a month after I built my new system with vista the motherboard stopped booting, giving me a SMBIOS error. I just happened to have a board lying around that would work with it, but even though it’s booted up, Vista is now whining that it needs to be activated again. Even though the processor is exactly the same, even though the hard drive is exactly the same. Even though the CD drive and Video card is exactly the same. Because I changed one part, it needs to be activated again. And I have to talk to a random person in India again to get it activated. Way to add insult to injury microsoft. I’m sure that when my $200 crossfire board gets back from Asus, I’m going to have to activate it yet a 3rd time with some random person in India!

Come on, Stardock. Write your stuff for another operating system. Please! You’re about the only reason that I’m still using this bastard operating system…